Hair: Origins

Yes that’s right…..there is a whole dedicated section to my hair. Trust me it needs its own post because I have done a lot. And I constantly get complimented on many of the styles i tried so i figured I’d share my journey.

According my my parents, I have ALWAYS had a full head of hair, Jet black and pin straight hair.

Growing up I was mainly home with my mother and sisters because my dad was usually working. It was inevitable that I took interest in doing my sister’s hair and even my own. It honestly created a culture for me to where I became very particular with how I wanted my hair styled and the overall look. I would hate if it got messed up or if it didn’t lay right. I also was VERY insecure between haircuts because it was always TOO short after a haircut (thanks dad). I don’t have many pictures from this era of my life because of several reasons:

i was never photogenic growing up particularly during this hair era

Social media wasn’t as big as it later became in my adult life.

Camera phones, digital camera and “selfies” were not really popular yet.

My life pretty much started with the MUSHROOM cut. Call it an Asian classic if you will or a Leonardo DiCaprio phase but for me it lasted about 18 years! I never went full bowl cut though, always had a middle part with no bangs. Ugh I cringe as I describe this cut cause I just hate it now. From like kindergarten to senior year of high school this is how my hair was. Sometimes it was clean and straight, but MOST of the time I had gel in my hair and it was shiny and a little crunchy (why I needed gel? Idk). My daily routine would be:

Shower or wash hair

Towel dry hair to almost dry

Rub in a strong hold gel from root to tip

Part hair down the middle

Blow dry it so it would harden and then break up some of the chunkier clumps with finger.

This last step should of been SHAVE IT ALL OFF, however it was go to school.

When I look back at why I may have kept this style for so long, I sort of made more sense about it. My hair was literally something I could always control, whether I was insecure of my weight, or how I looked, I can ALWAYS depend on how I control my hair to look. Growing up I had always had insecurity issues, maybe because I was pretty much the only Asian in my middle school…. maybe even high school other than my family. I always felt like the minority within an already minitorial environment. My friends were always usually Hispanic or African American. I always felt “different” and at that time in my life I didn’t think being different was a good thing so whatever I could control, I did.

I remember one time in high school this girl felt my hair and compared it to a weave texture because of the hardness and texture from products. Very embarrassing! However, as I grew more into adulthood and also gained more confidence I was itching for a change, which brought me into a new era.